Posted on 12/18/2006 8:47:53 AM PST by george76
A missing climber found dead in a snow cave on Mount Hood was identified as a Dallas man who had placed a distress call to relatives a little more than a week ago, a person close to the family said Monday.
Searchers found the cave Sunday near the spot located by cell phone signals traced from Kelly James, who made a four-minute call to his family Dec. 10 just below the summit, said Jessica Nunez, a spokeswoman for the climber's family.
On Monday, a recovery team was expected to retrieve the body, which remained on the mountain over night because darkness made it too dangerous to retrieve. The search for two other climbers also was to resume on the treacherous north side of Oregon's highest mountain.
His body was found in a second snow cave near the first, about 300 feet below the summit. Rescuers found two ice axes, a sleeping bag or pad and rope in the first. It was not known if any gear was in the second cave.
Monday's search would center on possible descent routes on Eliot Glacier and Cooper Spur, relatively lower levels of the mountain, in case the other two got down that far...
"Eliot Glacier is real dangerous so we will do that by air only," Hughes said Monday. "It's a bad avalanche area with crevasses. There are still people in crevasses that have never been recovered."
Searchers dug through the first cave to ensure no one was there and took the equipment, which will be examined for clues. The second cave with the climber's body was found a short time later.
It was not immediately clear which cave was occupied first, or why or when the climber, or climbers, decided to move from it.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
If he was injured, he would have been tied in and relatively immobile.
If those picks are James' (which is likely), the fact they were both out indicates he was healthy at the time, and using two arms. I believe he was on belay, and something happened to sweep the line down the hill with enough force to hurt him if his hand/arm was caught in a coil.
If they were on a long line, belay can last quite a while, so it is not uncommon to shelter the position and pull out your ground pad to sit upon while one belay... -Bruce
Oh great, to understand your post, I am going to have to go learn a whole new vocabulary. Give me awhile.
The impression I got from him was he was very surprised how little it took from him and his tool to break the cave surface. Now I gather it was the entrance and that was quite shallow, but more of the cave was deeper and better protected. But insulation that allowed James's body to become frozen solid is a real lack, given the conditions don't you think? (I'm not blaming any of the men for this.)
Have you read roamer_1's post #257? I think it makes some sense and might help explain why James was suffering from such severe problems even though calling from and found in the best cave they could construct. The broken arm...shock...possibly a trek alone from one site to the other where he was found, possibly after an accident had already taken away the other two?
Assuming the other two were coherent enough to try to do what was most survivable for their fellow, his point shows that it was more likely they were lost first because the choices they appeared to have made weren't best for their injured friend's survivability. So maybe they didn't make them as it appears, but they died in a fall before James did.
Which also ties into James's condition after that...
I have been reading your posts and find them interesting. Your scenerio would also fit with the dislocated shoulder and cut rope that was found?
I've been busy baking cookies--Watching the news conference doesn't leave much hope....
I missed the news conference. Nothing new to report?
If I could help??
"on belay" the person "on belay" is the "anchor". He is normally tied or anchored to the face separately from the anchors holding the rope. His job is to play out enough line for whoever is "on ascent", leaving just enough slack for the climber. In the event of a mishap, the belayer locks down the rope, so the climber only falls to his first point of protection... this allows the rope to "grow" in length in proportion to the climber's need
-Bruce
Pretty much doing nothing today, but reassesing. Will send up fixed wing aircraft(planes). May send up avalanche team later today. Storm coming tomorrow...
Thanks. Same things I heard earlier.
Heard his injury was a dislocated shoulder not a broken arm.
Bascially a snow cave will not get warmer than 32 degrees - still cold enough to freeze something.
If the cave's integrity was compromised in any way...it doesn't take long for 100 mph winds to lower that temperature well below 32. If he were dead for several days then it would seem likely that he would be frozen in those conditions.
I am curious about the cellphone filled with water...what does that mean exactly? Why wasn't it frozen as well?
With the amount of wind and velocity of wind it is not surprising that the snow was thinning out around the cave. It could merely be snow drifting away from cave. The fact the footprints were visible from their original arrival to the area also is evidence the snow was being blown away from the area.
Hi BonneBlue,
The cut rope, while possibly indicative, is not necessarily a bad thing. One often cuts a rope if a bad spot is found, making two shorter ropes. but if the cut is fresh, it is likely that it was made at an accident, as one tends to knot the end until one can seal the new end with fire (the rope would tend to fray at the end if not burned).
There are infinite ways to injure the shoulder, but one of those is certainly to get the arm caught in a coil on a fall. This is a common injury for the belayor, and even the best might forget and take a wrap around the arm...
OTOH, one may have to cut the rope away in an accident, if it is impossible to do otherwise. In this case, the length of the rope to the cut would indicate who cut it... the climber or the belayor.
even this is not a sure disaster- those on the line may have anchored themselves to the face before the rope was cut. Providing they still had health and enough rope to attempt a rappel (descent), they still could make it down to the glacier.
The ice axes are what bother me. nobody would leave them behind on purpose. They come in pairs and are used in each hand. One sinks each axe into the snow/ice, then kicks in each foot. It is awfully hard going without one's axes, especially if breaking new route. The only time they would be laid aside is by the belayor, as he is anchored off, and they are not necessary then. If they are James' axes, he was probably on belay.
-Bruce
Hi Surfer,
Yeah, I got that... same difference though.
-Bruce
I understand that. John Scott on FNC said he himself was holed up in a snow cave once and 32 degrees was as warm as it could get.
These men knew that, I'm sure.
I don't doubt that given all the givens his body could ultimately freeze, even solid. However, if you read roamer_1's post #257, it says quite a bit of what I've been wondering about in regard to the outcome that was found for Kelly James. He said it first, not me, that what would have had to be done for him was not done.
Therefore, he thinks more likely rather than the two men simply failing to do the essential...well, I'll refer you to him for some very cogent, thoughtful points.
Thank you for your posts. In regards to the axes,,, I watched the news conference,,,,the sheriff was asked the ownership of the axes. He said he would not answer the question at this time. He seemed to know who they belonged to but refused to answer the question and then ended the conference on this point. It will be interesting to hear who the axes belonged to.
One reason is rushing water under the glaciers make it more dangerous in warmer weather....I understand they are not certain the water under the glaciers completely frozen even in December.
almost forgot -- another reason is this being a volcanic mountain, the rocks are worse to deal with in the summer when they are exposed, they break easily and cut the skin and gear more easily. Having decorative volcanic rocks ion my yard, I can understand some of those concerns.
You can call me cruel if you like but you will be wasting your time. I spent 20 years in Alaska as a search and rescue pilot. I have seen the loss of many of my close friends who gave their lives in the service of rescuing people like this. In most cases, the victims were caught in circumstances beyond their control and were not out to defy the laws the natural World. It's with those of whom I sympathize.
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You're right......these over-achievers demonstrate a selfish attitude that oftentimes results in the deaths of people of far better character.
Not as far as shock goes...in fact if you know what you are doing you can reset a dislocated shoulder and gain some usage back ... broken bones are a whole different story.
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